Power out, generators & food
CenterPoint, fridge clock, CO, boil-water notices, meds, ice, and dark-house re-entry.
Home / Power out, generators & food
Status, maps, and claim portals change by the hour. Open the org site. Do not trust a screenshot from last night.
- CenterPoint outage map Action Center outage desk for CenterPoint territory. The older outage-center and outage-map paths returned 404 on 2026-09-21. Ignore viral ETAs. Downed line: stay back, call 911 and CenterPoint.
- Houston Public Works notices Boil-water and main-break posts. A 2022 lift page is not today's status. houstontx.gov/publicworks returned 404 on 2026-09-21. Recheck here or Houston OEM, then 311.
- City of Houston 311 Debris rules, water, and non-emergency city services. Not a substitute for 911. Outside the city, this is the wrong desk.
- 211 Texas Shelter, food, utility, and recovery referrals. Dial 211 if the sites lag.
Boil-water notices: how to confirm yours
Believe the utility, not the group chat. Houston Water, your MUD, or 311 can confirm a boil notice.
CenterPoint status and when food in the fridge is gone
Check the CenterPoint map, keep the fridge shut, and treat four hours as the perishable clock.
Charging phones when the grid is unstable
Charge in short, dry, official bursts. A wet outlet and a rumor of power will brick the only phone you have.
Extension cords, wet floors, and electrical sense
No cords through standing water, no wet-panel DIY, and one heavy-duty cord per real load.
Feeding kids when grocery stores are closed or cleaned out
Start with 211 and official food sites, then dry goods and neighbors. Do not drive flooded roads for a rumor.
Generator placement so you do not kill someone with CO
Generators stay outside, far from windows. A garage "with the door up" still kills people.
Ice, coolers, and community charging points
Ice is for meds and protein first. Confirm official ice and charge sites before you burn the last gas.
Medications that needed refrigeration
Call the pharmacist before you guess. Insulin and other cold meds are not a cooler experiment.
Returning home to a dark house safely
Gas, lines, and the panel first. If the house smells wrong or the floor is still a lake, you do not sleep there.
When to throw out flooded pantry goods
If floodwater touched the package, it is trash. Sealed cans only if they stay clean, intact, and rust-free.